Bonus Watch '12: RBS Makes Sure Stephen Hester Isn’t Thinking Of Going Anywhere

The Queen did want to acknowledge all the work he's done, though, so she threw the government worker a bone he can collect a few years from now.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC is awarding its chief executive officer a bonus of a bonus of around £963,000 ($1.5 million), paid fully in shares that will be deferred until 2014, capping weeks of public wrangling over bonus payouts at the U.K. bank. The bank said Thursday that Stephen Hester, CEO of the 83% government-owned lender, is being rewarded by its board for progress in shrinking RBS's once large and risky balance sheet and returning most businesses to profitability. Mr. Hester took the helm in late 2008 as the bank was on the brink of collapse. The bonus is about half of what he received for 2010. The bonus— made up of shares currently valued at £963,000—is in addition to his 2011 salary, which was £1.2 million. "A safer and more valuable RBS is in the interests of our customers, shareholders and the UK economy and we are progressing well towards this goal under the leadership of Stephen Hester, " Philip Hampton, the bank's chairman, said in a statement.

[WSJ]